10
Xenopus
That experience changed my life forever. I have been
inspired by “the humble batrachian” and the people who
study it for over 30 years now. I can’t wait to see what the
next 30 years will bring.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This chapter is dedicated to Mike Danilchik, Betsy Brown,
Rob Savage, Jim Denegre, and Jean Bertman; they taught me
to squeeze frogs. This work would have been impossible without the resources of the Biodiversity Heritage Library. I thank
Frédéric and Marie-Noëlle Bour for providing the manuscript
by their late father, Roger Bour; Anne-Helene Monsoro-Burq
for French translations; Dan Dickinson for German translations; and John Gurdon for sharing the citation to Rauber’s
work from 1886; and Helen Willsey for sharing the image for
Figure 1.1D .
REFERENCES
Amin, N.M., M. Womble, C. Ledon-Rettig, M. Hull, A. Dickinson,
and N. Nascone-Yoder. 2015. Budgett’s frog ( Lepidobatrachus
laevis): A new amphibian embryo for developmental biology.
Developmental Biology. 405:291–303.
Asashima, M. 2002. A view of amphibian embryology research in
Japan through the scientifc biography of Professor Osamu
Nakamura. International Journal of Developmental Biology.
38:155–165.
Beck, M., and E. Hurt. 2017. The nuclear pore complex: Understanding its function through structural insight. Nat Rev Mol
Cell Biol. 18:73–89.
Beddard, F.E. 1894. Notes upon the tadpole of Xenopus laevis.
Proc. Zool. Soc. London. 1894:101–107.
Beetschen, J.-C. 2004. How did urodele embryos come into
prominence as a model system? International Journal of
Developmental Biology. 40:629–636.
Beetschen, J.C., and J.L. Fischer. 2004. Yves Delage (1854–1920)
as a forerunner of modern nuclear transfer experiments. Int J
Dev Biol. 48:607–612.
Bellairs, R. 1980. Dr Elizabeth Marion Deuchar (1927–1979).
Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology.
57:1–2.
Bellerby, C. 1934. A rapid test for the diagnosis of pregnancy.
Nature. 133:494–495.
Birnstiel, M.L. 2002. The dawn of gene isolation. Gene. 300:3–11.
Birnstiel, M.L., H. Wallace, J.L. Sirlin, and M. Fischberg. 1966.
Localization of the ribosomal DNA complements in the
nucleolar organizer region of Xenopus laevis. Natl Cancer
Inst Monogr. 23:431–447.
Blackler, A.W. 1958. Contribution to the study of germ-cells in the
anura. J Embryol Exp Morphol. 6:491–503.
Blackler, A.W. 1960. Transfer of germ-cells in Xenopus laevis.
Nature. 185:859–860.
Blackler, A.W., and M. Fischberg. 1961. Transfer of primordial
germ-cells in Xenopus laevis. J. Embryol. Exp. Morph. 9:
634–641.
Bles, E.J. 1905. The life-history of Xenopus icevis, Daud. Trans.
Roy. Soc. Edin. 41:789–821.
Blitz, I.L., M.B. Fish, and K.W. Cho. 2016. Leapfrogging: Primordial germ cell transplantation permits recovery of CRISPR/
Cas9-induced mutations in essential genes. Development. 143:
2868–2875.
Blow, J.J., and R.A. Laskey. 2016. Xenopus cell-free extracts and
their contribution to the study of DNA replication and other
complex biological processes. Int J Dev Biol. 60:201–207.
Boie, H., and J.G. Wagler. 1829. Lettre de H. Boié a M. Wagler
sur quelques oiseaux et reptiles de i’ile de java. Bulletin Des
Sciences Naturelles et de Géologie. 16:107.
Boorstin, D.J. 1985. The discoverers: A history of man’s search to
know world and himself. Vintage, New York.
Bour, R. 2011. François Marie Daudin (29 août 1776–30 novembre
1803), auteur de l’Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière,
des Reptiles. Alytes, International Journal of Batrachology.
28:1–76.
Briggs, R., and T.J. King. 1952. Transplantation of living nuclei
from blastula cells into enucleated frogs’ eggs. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences. 38:455–463.
Briggs, R., and T.J. King. 1953. Factors affecting the transplantability of nuclei of frog embryonic cells. Journal of Experimental
Zoology. 122:485–505.
Brown, D.D. 1994. Some genes were isolated and their structure studied before the recombinant DNA era. Bioessays.
16:139–143.
Brown, D.D. 2004. A tribute to the Xenopus laevis oocyte and egg.
J Biol Chem. 279:45291–45299.
Brown, D.D. 2012. Developmental biology using purif ed genes.
Nat Med. 18:1496–1498.
Brown, D.D., P.C. Wensink, and E. Jordan. 1971. Purif cation and
some characteristics of 5S DNA from Xenopus laevis. Proc
Natl Acad Sci U S A. 68:3175–3179.
Callan, H.G., J. Randall, and S. Tomlin. 1949. An electron
microscope study of the nuclear membrane. Nature. 163:
280–280.
Callan, H.G., and S. Tomlin. 1950. Experimental studies on
amphibian oocyte nuclei I. Investigation of the structure
of the nuclear membrane by means of the electron microscope. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Series
B-Biological Sciences. 137:367–378.
Crew, F. 1939. Biological pregnancy diagnosis tests: A comparison
of the rabbit, the mouse, and the “clawed toad” ( Xenopus laevis) as the experimental animal. The British Medical Journal.
1:766–770.
Crick, F. 1970. Diffusion in embryogenesis. Nature. 225:420–422.
Cuvier, G. 1829. Le règne animal distribué d’aprè s son organisation, pour servir de base à l’histoire naturelle des animaux
et d’introduction à l’anatomie comparé e. Chez Dé terville,
Paris.
Dale, L., and J.M. Slack. 1987. Fate map for the 32-cell stage of
Xenopus laevis. Development. 99:527–551.
Daudin, F.M. 1803. Histoire naturelle des reinettes, des grenouilles
et des crapauds. Levrault, Paris.
Dawid, I.B. 1965. Deoxyribonucleic acid in amphibian eggs. J Mol
Biol. 12:581–599.
Dawid, I.B. 1966. Evidence for the mitochondrial origin of
frog egg cytoplasmic DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
56:269–276.
De Chadarevian, S. 2002. Designs for life: Molecular biology after
World War II. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Deuchar, E.M. 1956. Amino acids in developing tissues of Xenopus
laevis. Development. 4:327–346.
Deuchar, E.M. 1961. Amino-acid activation in tissues of early
embryos. Nature. 191:1006–1007.
Deuchar, E.M. 1970. Diffusion in embryogenesis. Nature. 225:671.
Deuchar, E.M. 1975a. Regeneration of the tail bud in Xenopus
embryos. Journal of Experimental Zoology. 192:381–389.
Deuchar, E.M. 1975b. Xenopus: The South African clawed frog.
New York, Wiley.
Xenopus
That experience changed my life forever. I have been
inspired by “the humble batrachian” and the people who
study it for over 30 years now. I can’t wait to see what the
next 30 years will bring.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This chapter is dedicated to Mike Danilchik, Betsy Brown,
Rob Savage, Jim Denegre, and Jean Bertman; they taught me
to squeeze frogs. This work would have been impossible without the resources of the Biodiversity Heritage Library. I thank
Frédéric and Marie-Noëlle Bour for providing the manuscript
by their late father, Roger Bour; Anne-Helene Monsoro-Burq
for French translations; Dan Dickinson for German translations; and John Gurdon for sharing the citation to Rauber’s
work from 1886; and Helen Willsey for sharing the image for
Figure 1.1D .
REFERENCES
Amin, N.M., M. Womble, C. Ledon-Rettig, M. Hull, A. Dickinson,
and N. Nascone-Yoder. 2015. Budgett’s frog ( Lepidobatrachus
laevis): A new amphibian embryo for developmental biology.
Developmental Biology. 405:291–303.
Asashima, M. 2002. A view of amphibian embryology research in
Japan through the scientifc biography of Professor Osamu
Nakamura. International Journal of Developmental Biology.
38:155–165.
Beck, M., and E. Hurt. 2017. The nuclear pore complex: Understanding its function through structural insight. Nat Rev Mol
Cell Biol. 18:73–89.
Beddard, F.E. 1894. Notes upon the tadpole of Xenopus laevis.
Proc. Zool. Soc. London. 1894:101–107.
Beetschen, J.-C. 2004. How did urodele embryos come into
prominence as a model system? International Journal of
Developmental Biology. 40:629–636.
Beetschen, J.C., and J.L. Fischer. 2004. Yves Delage (1854–1920)
as a forerunner of modern nuclear transfer experiments. Int J
Dev Biol. 48:607–612.
Bellairs, R. 1980. Dr Elizabeth Marion Deuchar (1927–1979).
Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology.
57:1–2.
Bellerby, C. 1934. A rapid test for the diagnosis of pregnancy.
Nature. 133:494–495.
Birnstiel, M.L. 2002. The dawn of gene isolation. Gene. 300:3–11.
Birnstiel, M.L., H. Wallace, J.L. Sirlin, and M. Fischberg. 1966.
Localization of the ribosomal DNA complements in the
nucleolar organizer region of Xenopus laevis. Natl Cancer
Inst Monogr. 23:431–447.
Blackler, A.W. 1958. Contribution to the study of germ-cells in the
anura. J Embryol Exp Morphol. 6:491–503.
Blackler, A.W. 1960. Transfer of germ-cells in Xenopus laevis.
Nature. 185:859–860.
Blackler, A.W., and M. Fischberg. 1961. Transfer of primordial
germ-cells in Xenopus laevis. J. Embryol. Exp. Morph. 9:
634–641.
Bles, E.J. 1905. The life-history of Xenopus icevis, Daud. Trans.
Roy. Soc. Edin. 41:789–821.
Blitz, I.L., M.B. Fish, and K.W. Cho. 2016. Leapfrogging: Primordial germ cell transplantation permits recovery of CRISPR/
Cas9-induced mutations in essential genes. Development. 143:
2868–2875.
Blow, J.J., and R.A. Laskey. 2016. Xenopus cell-free extracts and
their contribution to the study of DNA replication and other
complex biological processes. Int J Dev Biol. 60:201–207.
Boie, H., and J.G. Wagler. 1829. Lettre de H. Boié a M. Wagler
sur quelques oiseaux et reptiles de i’ile de java. Bulletin Des
Sciences Naturelles et de Géologie. 16:107.
Boorstin, D.J. 1985. The discoverers: A history of man’s search to
know world and himself. Vintage, New York.
Bour, R. 2011. François Marie Daudin (29 août 1776–30 novembre
1803), auteur de l’Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière,
des Reptiles. Alytes, International Journal of Batrachology.
28:1–76.
Briggs, R., and T.J. King. 1952. Transplantation of living nuclei
from blastula cells into enucleated frogs’ eggs. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences. 38:455–463.
Briggs, R., and T.J. King. 1953. Factors affecting the transplantability of nuclei of frog embryonic cells. Journal of Experimental
Zoology. 122:485–505.
Brown, D.D. 1994. Some genes were isolated and their structure studied before the recombinant DNA era. Bioessays.
16:139–143.
Brown, D.D. 2004. A tribute to the Xenopus laevis oocyte and egg.
J Biol Chem. 279:45291–45299.
Brown, D.D. 2012. Developmental biology using purif ed genes.
Nat Med. 18:1496–1498.
Brown, D.D., P.C. Wensink, and E. Jordan. 1971. Purif cation and
some characteristics of 5S DNA from Xenopus laevis. Proc
Natl Acad Sci U S A. 68:3175–3179.
Callan, H.G., J. Randall, and S. Tomlin. 1949. An electron
microscope study of the nuclear membrane. Nature. 163:
280–280.
Callan, H.G., and S. Tomlin. 1950. Experimental studies on
amphibian oocyte nuclei I. Investigation of the structure
of the nuclear membrane by means of the electron microscope. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Series
B-Biological Sciences. 137:367–378.
Crew, F. 1939. Biological pregnancy diagnosis tests: A comparison
of the rabbit, the mouse, and the “clawed toad” ( Xenopus laevis) as the experimental animal. The British Medical Journal.
1:766–770.
Crick, F. 1970. Diffusion in embryogenesis. Nature. 225:420–422.
Cuvier, G. 1829. Le règne animal distribué d’aprè s son organisation, pour servir de base à l’histoire naturelle des animaux
et d’introduction à l’anatomie comparé e. Chez Dé terville,
Paris.
Dale, L., and J.M. Slack. 1987. Fate map for the 32-cell stage of
Xenopus laevis. Development. 99:527–551.
Daudin, F.M. 1803. Histoire naturelle des reinettes, des grenouilles
et des crapauds. Levrault, Paris.
Dawid, I.B. 1965. Deoxyribonucleic acid in amphibian eggs. J Mol
Biol. 12:581–599.
Dawid, I.B. 1966. Evidence for the mitochondrial origin of
frog egg cytoplasmic DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
56:269–276.
De Chadarevian, S. 2002. Designs for life: Molecular biology after
World War II. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Deuchar, E.M. 1956. Amino acids in developing tissues of Xenopus
laevis. Development. 4:327–346.
Deuchar, E.M. 1961. Amino-acid activation in tissues of early
embryos. Nature. 191:1006–1007.
Deuchar, E.M. 1970. Diffusion in embryogenesis. Nature. 225:671.
Deuchar, E.M. 1975a. Regeneration of the tail bud in Xenopus
embryos. Journal of Experimental Zoology. 192:381–389.
Deuchar, E.M. 1975b. Xenopus: The South African clawed frog.
New York, Wiley.